What happens when you post a video about an
historical PRIVATE property family cemetery? This is about the Curtis
Family Cemetery. I hope you were able to catch the beauty of the area,
because the cemetery has been
totally vandalized, just about every

stone was demonlished. Two Civil War
veterans stones were not touched.The wanton destruction was done within a
year of the walkway's
completion. The City of Topeka sees no reason to protect a family cemetery
that is inside the city limits;
though reports were filed with the local Topeka Police; no one has been charged for the destruction.

=============================================================

Sorry; but
the walk trail has been completed; leaving no legal access for the private
property from a public road; this is clearly against private property laws; as
well as no protection has been provided by the City of Topeka for the historic
cemetery; the trash has not only tripled but is beyond belief as well as the
trespassing and vandalism, as predicted by me and IGNORED by the City of
Topeka.

As of June,
2007, the walkway has been completed, the walkway was moved 18 feet West of the
Curtis Family Cemetery; but the trash has tripled, so has trespassing,
harassment of me while I am working at the cemetery, now I have death threats against
me as well. So the City of Topeka has no respect for cemeteries, when will
they do something? After I am dead??

As of May, 2007; my own opinion, is that the
City of Topeka should NOT be putting the walkway/bike path anywhere near the
Curtis Family Cemetery of 1549 NW Harrison, North Topeka, Kansas. To me, this
shows contempt by the City of Topeka for the cemetery, a disregard for the
cemetery as well as certainly no respect for the cemetery. Is the City of
Topeka planning on being responsible for future vandalism or any damages, or
clean-up of the Curtis Family Cemetery because of the the people using of the
planned walkway/bike
path; because of the
increase of people in the area of the Curtis Family Cemetery?
If not, the City of Topeka, in a gesture of good
faith showing a real care and concern for the Curtis Family Cemetery erect a 6
foot fence between the walkway/bike path and the property of the Curtis
Family Cemetery. The City of Topeka has
stopped all construction for the moment of the planned walkway/bike path, until
new paperwork has been processed to move the trail to the west and OFF of the
Curtis Family Cemetery, though the walkway/bike path will still be on the South
and West sides of the Curtis Family Cemetery if allowed to continue as
planned. If you are a Curtis
family member, Please help by letting these people (listed below) know your
opinion about the cemetery, by calling them, emailing them, or perhaps BEST of
all, write each of them a letter.(they already have had mine in person many
times but would not listen; YOU are citizens of TOPEKA, perhaps they will listen to
YOU).

The City apologizes after work crews have been clearing
ground for a planned walking and biking trail through Topeka that cuts
right through cemetery grounds. “They've cleared the grass and moved turf on
the top,” says Joe Singer, City of Topeka Chief Surveyor. “They haven't done
any excavation yet.” Ann Andrews, the Curtis Family Cemetery caretaker, says
it’s good thing the city hasn’t started digging, because there could be
unmarked graves there. The cemetery dates back to the 1860's and used to be
owned by Charles Curtis, the nation's only American Indian
Vice-President.The city says it was an honest mistake, and stopped work in
the area after recognizing the property boundaries were off. “They still
wouldn't listen to me,” says Andrews. “I come out here and they still wouldn't
stop. They said, ‘we'll have our survey team come out.’ I said OK. It was
only then they acknowledged they did something wrong.”Singer says the
city realized the property line actually ends 19 feet further west of where the
original plan showed. “North Topeka is not a good place to survey. There are
many records and conflicting property lines.” Singer says the land looked the
same as city land and wasn't fenced in like the marked graves on the
cemetery. It's still up in the air who actually owns the
property.Andrews worries about the disrespect and potential vandalism that
could arise from having a trail that close to a cemetery. The city says
consultants will re-design soldier trail and probably re-align it to the north
to smooth over the muddy situation. The city says Soldier Trail, which
will stretch from Garfield Park to Lyman Road, should be completed by this
summer.

Published Saturday, December 30,
2006Work on trail did overlap
cemetery, city says; Relatives of Charles Curtis buried at site
By Steve
FryThe Capital-Journal

A Topeka city spokesman acknowledged Friday that the caretaker
for a historic cemetery was right earlier this week when she said a city
hiking, jogging and cycling trail had lapsed onto cemetery land.
Spokesman David Bevens said the Soldier Trail cut the northwest corner
of the Curtis Family Cemetery in North Topeka. The cemetery, which was owned
by Charles Curtis, the only American Indian ever elected vice president, is
on the west side of the 1400 block of N.W. Topeka Boulevard on the south
side of Soldier Creek.The city earlier said records showed Soldier Trail
wasn't on the cemetery property. Ann Andrews, caretaker for the Curtis Family
Cemetery since 1994, said Friday she was "disappointed" in the city because
she has told city officials where the cemetery boundaries were and where the
dead were buried.

Herrman's Excavating Inc. is handling work on a trail
near Soldier Creek in North Topeka that the city recently learned has
infringed upon the Curtis Family Cemetery. The city earlier this week had said
records showed Soldier Trail wasn't on the cemetery
property.

Andrews said earlier this week that workers on Wednesday drove
their equipment onto an unfenced portion of the cemetery that contained
unmarked graves and damaged a fence that enclosed a portion of the cemetery
containing marked graves. Andrews said there are 15 marked graves and 20 to 50
unmarked graves at the cemetery.Assistant city engineer Jeff Hunt said,
"Preliminary results indicate we are on the cemetery property with the
proposed trail."Andrews said Hunt asked her on Friday to talk to Curtis'
descendants to see whether they would agree to give the city an easement for
the trail where the construction is on the corner of the cemetery. Andrews
said she will call the 15 descendants and hopes to hear answers from them by
this weekend. "I don't think the family will agree to leave the trail where
it's at," Andrews said."Whether we are on top of unmarked graves, we don't
have a clue," Bevens said. Equipment used in the construction of the trail
crossed onto cemetery property because a consultant to the city "mismarked"
the west property line of the cemetery, Bevens said.The west line of the
cemetery is 15 feet to the west of where the consultant first said it was,
Bevens said. Construction equipment building the trail cut a triangle-shaped
portion of the cemetery measuring 40 feet long and 10 feet deep at its
widest into the cemetery, Bevens said. "All we've done is scrape the dirt (8
to 10 inches deep)," Bevens said. "We haven't poured cement, we haven't dug
down." Construction of that portion of Soldier Trail has been stopped until
the city gets an easement to build that part of the trail, Bevens said. To
the west of the trail and cemetery is a storage lot. "We're certainly
apologetic that it happened," Bevens said.The error was discovered Thursday
when the consultant checked the property line and determined that the city
was too far east by 15 feet, Bevens said.Joe Singer, the city's chief
surveyor, will check the cemetery's west boundary when he returns to work
Tuesday, Bevens said.The mistake occurred because property line pins
were removed from the area when the old Soldier Creek was rechanneled after
the 1951 flood, Bevens said.The walking, jogging and cycling trail, which
will be 10 feet wide, will extend from Garfield Park on N. Kansas Avenue to
the Kuehne-Thomas Branch of the YMCA, 1936 N.W. Tyler.The cemetery, which
Andrews said was originally known as Curtis Memorial Gardens, is the resting
spot of relatives of Curtis, the Topeka native and U.S. Senator who was vice
president during the Herbert Hoover administration from 1929 to
1933.Curtis' grandfather founded the cemetery in the 1860s, and among those
buried there are Oren Arms Curtis and Ellen Pappan, also known as Helen
Papen, the parents of the vice president.The floods of 1903 and 1951 damaged
the small cemetery, according to newspaper reports. Charles Curtis is buried
in Topeka Cemetery at S.E. 10th and California.

A
cemetery caretaker said Wednesday that work on a section of the Soldier Trail in
north Topeka had encroached upon unmarked graves at the Curtis Family
Cemetery. The city is constructing the walking, jogging and cycling trail
between Garfield Park on North Kansas Avenue and the Kuehne-Thomas Branch of
the YMCA at 1936 N.W. Tyler.Ann Andrews, caretaker for the Curtis Family
Cemetery since 1994, said workers on Wednesday drove their equipment onto an
unfenced portion of the cemetery that contained unmarked graves and damaged a
fence that enclosed a portion of the cemetery containing marked
graves. She said a truck and other equipment had driven over unmarked graves.
Andrews said there are 20 to 50 graves at the cemetery and only about 12 of
them are marked. The cemetery is the resting spot of relatives of Charles
Curtis, an American Indian, Topeka native and U.S. Senator who was vice
president during the Herbert Hoover administration. He is the only American
Indian ever elected vice president. Curtis himself is buried in Topeka
Cemetery at S.E. 10th and California.City spokesman Dave Bevens said
Wednesday afternoon that the city engineer had been unaware there were
unmarked graves in the area. Bevens confirmed that the construction crew
had removed a section of the fence enclosing the marked graves while taking
out another fence and that equipment had crossed over some ground where unmarked
graves are located.The damage will be repaired, he said, and care will
be taken to avoid gravesites. The city's records show the trail itself isn't
on the cemetery property, Bevens said. Dave Herrman, of Herrman's Excavating
Inc., said he didn't think the construction crew had been aware of any
unmarked graves before the work started. Herrman's Excavating is the
subcontractor for the work being done near the cemetery on the south bank of
Soldier Creek, just north of where N.W. Harrison ends. Herrman said crews
would be sensitive to Andrews' concerns as the project progressed.

The information on this web site has been obtained from a variety of sources, including information from

persons who did not identify their sources. Even where the original source is cited, transcription errors are

common. All information should always be independently verified by the researcher, from primary source

materials where possible.Please feel free to suggest any changes, additions, or corrections, please include sources for change.No part of this web site, either in part, or whole, may be reproduced, transmitted or utilized in any form

or by any means; electronic, photographic or mechanical, including photocopying, recordingor by any

information storage and retrieval systems; as well as modify, copy, license, or create derivative works

from the same, unless you obtain the web site owner's express written permission in advance.

Unauthorized usage of any content without prior written permission is a violation of copyright laws.

Please contact the designer of this web site before using any of the contents of this web site.